the light that you left me
by sjcrown3
Summary: The first time it was a rush of wind pushing him out of harm's way. The second time it was a hand on his shoulder, keeping him grounded to reality. And then when Kakashi looked up, it was to the sight of golden hair and blue eyes. Though a few shades different, Kakashi found himself growing intrigued by the older man who would slowly become a fixture in his life. GEN.
1. when it feels like the end of my world

**Standard disclaimers apply** (ie. I don't own Naruto).

Originally posted on ao3 in 2017.

* * *

Kakashi probably could not pinpoint the exact moment the other became a fixture in his life. He had become acquainted, for the lack of a better word with the older man (and by the slight stubble on the other's chin, Kakashi was certain that the man was a good ten years older than him) during a reconnaissance mission in Kiri. The mission was a success and they had the information they needed. The scroll that was neatly tucked away under his flak jacket was evidence for that. His team of four had just stepped outside the borders of Kiri when they were ambushed. A quick scan and Kakashi counted at least ten Kiri-nin. When both sides clashed, he quickly realised that they were just above chunin level. Making short work of one with a few well-timed kicks, Kakashi spun around when he felt a tingling in the back of his neck. He deflected the kunai that was aimed at his head and retaliated with a senbon of his own. The thud that followed was all he needed to know that it had found its mark.

Ducking so that another kunai whizzed harmlessly past him, Kakashi bit back a wince when pain shot up his right leg. It was only a moment's delay but the katana that came bearing down onto him was too close for comfort. The silver glinted in the light and he realised that he could not completely avoid it, not without it slicing through his standard ANBU shirt and piercing skin.

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi braced for the pain but all he felt was a rush of wind. It propelled him backwards so that the katana sailed through the air just in front of him. The Kiri-nin looked just as bewildered as he did, although Kakashi's shinobi instincts kicked in before the other recovered. He wasted no time in forming the necessary seals for a katon.

It was only much later that Kakashi was able to mull over the turn of events. With his team, mostly unscathed but for the few superficial wounds that their medic quickly took care of, tucked away in cave a fair distance away from where the earlier skirmish took place, Kakashi seated himself by the entrance. It gave him an unobscured view of the immediate vicinity, _because years of training taught him there was no such thing as being too paranoid_ , although he would have preferred a higher vantage point, say atop a tree.

Over the quiet murmur of his squadron, Kakashi allowed his head tip back and his eyes to slip shut as exhaustion crept up on him and his shoulders slumped slightly.

That gust of wind … if it was not some kind of wind release, Kakashi would eat his collection of exploding tags. He frowned, because now with the adrenaline wearing off, the theory that was taking form in the fringes of his mind seemed more preposterous than ever. It must have been momentary insanity or hell, some kind of undetectable genjutsu because there was no way. ' _Although, Obito's sharingan would have seen through any genjutsu,'_ a part of his brain supplied. And at the thought of his teammate, Kakashi swallowed heavily. Images of his team, _his old team_ because no team, present or future could ever replace-

There was a burning in his eyes and Kakashi blinked furiously, even though his ANBU mask was more than enough to hide whatever turmoil that laid beneath and within.

It was impossible because he swore he saw a flash of yellow behind the enemy nin but when he blinked, it had disappeared. It must have been a figment of his imagination because in that moment- he swore he saw his sensei.

But that was impossible because the Yondaime was dead, buried deep into the cold hard ground where Kakashi could never hope to reach.

* * *

It had become a ritual. Before and after every mission, and almost every moment in between, Kakashi found himself down the same road, making the familiar turns and ending up with his feet planted in front of the memorial stone.

Here, he let his thoughts consume him because he was alone and did not need to pretend to be someone he was not – brave. Because for all the praises and expectations his peers heaped onto him since he graduated from the academy at the tender age of six, Kakashi was anything but brave. Left to his own thoughts, Kakashi fenced himself off from everyone else. He threw himself into every mission, into every fight just so he did not have to remember. He focused on the adrenaline rush and the acute awareness of everything, from the dilation of the enemy's pupils to the slight delay in their hand seals. Because it all made him forget.

He ascended the ranks quickly and after just six months, he was named captain of his own squad. Yet he felt nothing. His heart did not lighten when he shook hands with the ANBU commander at his promotion nor when the Third offered his congratulations in person. Instead, he felt empty as he stared blankly at the new mask handed to him. It was cold to touch and the porcelain was heavy in his hands.

Running a hand through his hair as his thoughts ran astray, Kakashi stood still as he regarded the memorial stone in silence. He had no idea how long he stayed like that. The names were beginning to blur into one another when he blinked and caught a glimpse of yellow in the corner of his eye. This time, Kakashi knew it was not adrenaline or genjutsu, or whatever theories his mind had cooked up that time.

He was sixteen and an active ANBU operative so he should have been wary of any unknown nin, especially when the Kyuubi invasion was only mere months ago and the village had barely recovered. He should have been on his guard but for some reason, his hand did not stray downward to rest against his pouch, ready to flick a kunai at the sign of any danger. He did not recognise the other's chakra but it was not malicious, and instead felt warm. Almost unwittingly, his mind conjured up a hazy image of Obito whose chakra had always been a beacon and it blazed like scorching fire. He recalled the toothy smile, fogged up goggles and a clumsiness that was unbecoming of a shinobi, and Kakashi felt his chest constrict. His breaths came in gasps and Kakashi squeezed his eye shut. It was too much, too soon and he felt like the ground was disappearing from beneath him.

There was a light touch on his shoulder. It kept him grounded to reality and Kakashi vaguely realised that he was swaying slightly on his feet. He tensed. _Because right now he was too vulnerable, because one kunai to the chest was all that separated him from this world and the next_ but the warm fingers pressing firmly into his shoulder to steady him did not disappear in place of a kunai. And Kakashi … he did not yank his shoulder away. With his head bowed, Kakashi took in the other's standard shinobi clothing and relaxed stance. Sunlight fell onto the other's hand and he saw faint scars littered across tanned skin.

There was a soft exhale and the hand on his shoulder was withdrawn. Looking up, he could barely hold back the words that slipped past his lips.

"Minato sen–"

His eye widened at the sight of blond hair and Kakashi could feel cold fingers grabbing hold of his heart and yanking it mercilessly. But it was too short, and a shade different from spiky golden hair he was used to seeing- wanted to desperately see again.

No, this was not Minato sensei miraculously back from the dead, and Kakashi was still very much alone in this world.

Meeting the other's gaze, Kakashi froze at the familiar shade of blue. He wanted to tear his eyes away because the memories he had sought to bury away came rushing back to the forefront of his mind, along with the agony, the guilt and the helplessness. But at the same time, he could not and would not look away. So he gave in and eagerly drank in the sight which reminded him too vividly of everything he had lost.

Eventually, it became too much and he screwed his eye shut. It was too soon and he did not expect–

"Hey, are you alright?"

Kakashi's eye snapped open and found the other furrowing his brows slightly in concern.

'No,' Kakashi thought, he was not alright. He must be hallucinating because this was not making any sense. He would rather fight a squad of Kumo-nin than invest any more brain power into trying to unravel the shitstorm that was going on in his head. Maybe the back-to-back missions were finally getting to him.

* * *

Ever since that encounter, Kakashi had kept his eyes and ears peeled for any sign of his sensei's lookalike. His sensei never mentioned a brother or any blood relatives but … the resemblance was too great to be a coincidence. He was certain that there must be some Namikaze in the other's blood.

The third time they met was not until a few months later when Kakashi was on a solo mission in Amegakure. It was almost nightfall when he finished his mission. He was ready to make the four-day journey back to Konoha when the sound of something sailing through the air had him crouching to avoid being skewered by an enormous barbed monstrosity of a– _was that a sword?_ Kakashi had no time to ponder when the thing swung in an arc and came descending on him. Leaping back, he held back the urge to uncover his sharingan because that would be a dead giveaway. Spinning around to dodge another swing that would have torn his left arm into shreds, he deftly twisted the kunai in his hand and bent his knees to stabilise his stance.

His eye flickered upward to the Kiri headband and the slash that ran across it. His lips curled, _missing-nin._ Kakashi noted the row of sharp pointy teeth and the blue colouring which cannot be dye or face paint. Big sword and blue skin … His mind supplied the name he was looking for – Hoshigaki Kisame. One of the seven Swordsmen of the Mist and if he was not mistaken, that monstrosity of a sword was Samehada. A sword renowned for being able to absorb chakra and then, transferring it to the wielder. Kakashi supressed a grimace because he was no Uzumaki, with a bottomless supply of chakra. His chakra levels were probably a bit higher than an average jounin, which worked well for his techniques. Rather than a ninjutsu specialist, Kakashi was more of a taijutsu coupled with genjutsu user. He was efficient in battle, preferring to calculate his every move instead of trial and error, which meant that this fight was definitely not in his favour. Alone and far from home, he steeled himself because the chances of anyone coming to his aid were slim, if not nil. So when Hoshigaki came at him with a feral grin, Kakashi gripped his kunai tightly and fell into the battle. With practiced movements, he stepped to the right and leapt up as the other swung his leg out low in a sweeping motion. Making out the series of hand seals the former Kiri-nin was forming was for a water jutsu, Kakashi countered.

It was dark and Kakashi had no idea how much time had passed when movement to his left had him flinging his body back instinctually to evade the wave of water aiming to take off his head. His breaths were coming in short pants and his chakra levels were dangerously low. Other than the glancing blow that made contact with his left side, he was sporting a few shallow cuts. His dark eye peered through the strands of wet silver hair and Kakashi almost sighed at the sight of his barely injured opponent. The other did not look even slightly winded.

Perhaps it was time to use the sharingan. He did not want to, not only because it would leave the other with no qualms about which village he was from but also –

Kakashi was brought out of his musings when Hoshigaki charged at him with a speed that he was surprised the other possessed. Wincing when barbs raked across his torso, Kakashi was barely able to move away from the blow that came after. Hand going to his mask, he wrapped the tips of his fingers around the edges. He was ready to fling it off when a larger calloused hand closed around his.

Shifting so that he could make out the strands of yellow hair through his ANBU mask, Kakashi unconsciously breathed out a sigh of relief. As if he had heard, the older man curled his lips in amusement and withdrew his hand. Kakashi swore that he did not miss the warmth, not at all.

It must be the blood loss. Yes, that must be the reason for the strange tingling on his skin where those fingers were.

His vision blurred. He must have passed out because the last thing he remembered seeing was the blond-haired man clashing with Hoshigaki. When he woke, he was laying flat on his back in the same clearing. He sensed movement and his dark eye flickered up to meet clear blue as the older man knelt beside him silently.

"Kisame escaped," the other imparted before Kakashi felt a hand carefully lifting the fold of his shirt. And then, warmth engulfed him. His sleep-addled mind helpfully informed him that the other was healing him.

But then, why?

They were not teammates. Kakashi did not know the man and had only met him thrice, twice really, because the first time did not exactly count. Hell, he did not even know the other's –

"Name?" There was a rasp in his voice, his throat was dry and there was pain in his calf but he was too curious to care.

The chakra from the other man's hand faded and piercing blue eyes met his. There was a flicker, but it was gone too quickly for Kakashi to decipher what it had meant before those eyes softened.

There was a quiet murmur, "Kurama."

Kurama. Kakashi did not recognise the name. A quick glance at the hair brighter than the Sun and he thought, _Namikaze_.

Kurama stilled in shock and Kakashi belatedly realised that he must have voiced his thoughts. He was not sure if the other's reaction was a confirmation of his suspicions or not and that made Kakashi want to sigh in frustration. He was not allowed a moment to ponder about it when Kurama ordered firmly, "rest."

As he drifted off, he swore he glimpsed a wistful smile and felt fingers combing through his hair.

* * *

It had only been a week since his run-in with Hoshigaki and Kakashi was fully recovered. Once he had woken up, he and Kurama packed up and made their way back to Konoha. During the entire trip, Kakashi had stayed behind the blonde as they leapt from branch to branch. Fixing his eye onto the back of the other's head, he wondered how the other was conveniently around Amegakure when he had been ambushed.

This question, along with a dozen more had been on the tip of his tongue when Kurama tilted his head back and fastened his eyes onto Kakashi.

They swept over his torso before he asked softly, "your wound's not bothering you?"

Kakashi shook his head in the affirmative. Then out of curiosity he asked, "where did you learn medical ninjutsu?"

Kurama hummed before turning his head away to face ahead. There was a pause and Kakashi figured he wasn't going to get an answer when the other spoke again.

"An old teammate taught me the basics. I'm not proficient, but she taught me enough for me to get by."

The rest of the trip was made in silence. It did not bother Kakashi, as he was still trying to piece together the other's identity but to no avail. They were about an hour away from Konoha when Kurama slowed down and came to a stop. Leaping down after the other, Kakashi scanned the area. Why had they stopped?

"Here is where I leave you," Kurama turned around and there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"I have a question."

Kurama blinked and inclined his head.

Kakashi tried to keep his voice flat, but emotion laced his words.

"What relations do you have with Namikaze Minato?"

Kakashi had thought about what he wanted to ask the other most, from the identity of his parents to the various S-ranked techniques in the other's arsenal.

Kurama considered the question for a moment, "I am … a relative."

Kakashi scrutinised the other, but his face was carefully blank.

Slowly he nodded. He supposed that he was satisfied with this at the time being.

"I'll see you around then, Kakashi. Don't go fighting anymore swordsmen from the Mist if you can help it."

He almost sputtered at the teasing lilt in the other's voice before he felt a hand drop onto his head and ruffle his hair. A moment later, Kakashi was alone in the forest.

"Kakashi-kun."

Kakashi brought his attention back to the present and looked up.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The Third glanced down at the paper in his hands before looking up again. He removed the pipe from his mouth.

"As much as I appreciate your dedication to the village, you need a break."

Blinking, Kakashi opened his mouth to counter but the Hokage held up a hand.

Sarutobi continued, his voice softening, "we are not at war. You have done more than enough, my boy. Take some time off, explore the village and spend some time with your friends."

With that, the Hokage dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

"And don't come back until two weeks from today."

And so Kakashi found himself wandering around the village. He had debated about telling the Hokage about Kurama. Not only was he was a foreign nin capable of entering and exiting Konoha without alerting the guards, his intention towards the village was unknown. Yet, Kakashi sensed no ill will from the other. Kurama did not need to step in during his fight with Hoshigaki, nor did he have to heal Kakashi after. There was an air of melancholy surrounding the man and Kakashi recalled Kurama's sombre tone as he spoke about his teammate. It was unlikely that the man was a threat to Konoha.

Not to mention, he was probably a Namikaze.

His eye lingered on the fourth face carved onto the Hokage Monument before the sounds of laughter made him turn. Kakashi watched as the academy gates were pushed open and twenty or so students rushed out with a skip in their steps. The sight of children steered his thoughts to his sensei's son.

Anyone who had been close to the Yondaime, from his personal guards to his students were banned from interacting with his son. The family name on his birth certificate wasn't even Namikaze, but his mother's name. All to keep him safe from his father's enemies, that was what the Hokage advised.

Kakashi thought grimly, 'what would sensei say if he saw the way his beloved village was treating his own son.'

And Kakashi was no different.

He did not step forward when they decided the fate of his sensei's son. He had stood there with half his face hidden in the shadows and his hands fisted behind his back. Then, he had gone home and cried himself to sleep because even though he did not have the faintest idea of how to care for a child, the guilt that he had not even bothered to try ate away at him.

It was the third day of his break and the third consecutive morning that some part of him had compelled him to perch on a tree branch just outside the orphanage. With nothing to occupy him, Kakashi had taken to the Nara pastime of cloud watching as he peered at the red roofed building from above. A part of him wanted to sneak inside and catch a glimpse of his sensei's son but the rational side of him reminded him of the Hokage's orders. Sighing, Kakashi leaned back.

There was a rustle in the leaves before a pair of feet landed lightly beside him and he felt the branch dip slightly. Having sensed the other's chakra signal from afar, Kakashi briefly wondered what the other wanted and nodded a greeting, "Shiranui."

The older jonin glanced at the direction of the orphanage before turning to him and chuckled, "call me Genma."

Raising his eyebrows at that, Kakashi acquiesced inaudibly.

"And what can I do for you?"

The other did not reply, but had turned his attention back to orphanage in silent contemplation.

Kakashi considered leaving. Just one quick hand seal and he would be gone, on some street on the other side of the village. He had never been the social type but the thought of having to find something else to occupy his time … Kakashi held back a sigh.

Shifting into a more comfortable position, he waited.

"It's stupid how everyone close to the Yondaime are all banned from seeing his son, isn't it?"

Kakashi blinked in confusion and it was a moment before it dawned on him. Genma was one of the Yondaime's personal guards. _He was probably by sensei's side more than I was._

Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose but stopped short of massaging his temples. He could almost feel the imminent headache because he knew exactly what direction this conversation was heading towards.

"Orders are orders."

Genma chewed on the end of his senbon, and Kakashi could almost see the other formulating an answer, an answer that he was not going to like.

Genma challenged him evenly, "even though he is Minato-san's legacy?"

There was an underlying anger as the older man dared Kakashi to deny his duty to Naruto. He could see the displeasure simmering in Genma's hazel eyes, and Kakashi found that he understood exactly what the other was feeling.

Because as much as Kakashi wanted to leap down this tree, march down the pathway leading to the orphanage, blast open that door and retrieve his sensei's bundle of joy, he couldn't … even though he had seen the way Naruto was treated.

He saw how the nannies refused to touch Naruto more than necessary, turning a blind eye and leaving the room when he began to cry. They fled like a demon was after them. They cooed at the other babies, laughing as small hands playfully grabbed at their fingers but they left Naruto alone, throwing frosted glares in his direction when he whined, wanting to be cradled as well.

And as Kakashi witnessed all this with his nails biting into skin, he did not follow his urge to knock them all out and blow the building sky high. He did not wrangle their necks and gut them like fish because sadly, that would do more damage than good.

"It is especially because he is sensei's son that we can't do anything," Kakashi lowered his voice to a murmur, mindful of the various ANBU operatives positioned in the area who would undoubtedly report this back to the Hokage. He implored that the other would understand that Naruto would suffer even more because of their actions. And Kakashi saw the other adopt a contemplative look as the wheels began to turn.

The civilians would isolate Naruto completely and that was the furthest thing Kakashi wanted. Even though he wanted nothing more than take him away, Naruto deserved infinitely better than him. He was virtually always away from the village, either too busy delivering scrolls detailing classified information to some shady character or disembowelling some corrupted political figure in Kumo. Plus, he had never been good with children and his aloofness did nothing to help.

And right now, he was a mess. He could barely keep his life together and some nights, it felt as though everything was on the verge of toppling over. But he owed it to his sensei and his team to at least consider it. After all, they were the ones to teach him that those who break the rules were trash but those who abandon their teammates were worse than scum.

Soft chuckles filled the air and Kakashi was brought back from his reverie.

"We can't do anything now … but that might change tomorrow, or the day after."

Kakashi turned to look at the other and found no trace of his previous anger, only thoughtfulness and a touch of mischief. He was glad the other was back to his old self because although he was not close to the tokubetsu jonin, Kakashi had never seen Genma so aggravated.

A hand clapped him on the back and Kakashi nearly fell forward in surprise.

"Visit the jonin station sometime. Don't think I haven't noticed that you have never stepped foot into the place."

The silver-haired jonin blanched and Genma grinned.

"Don't be such a stranger, Kakashi."

"Who said–"

"Hm? Did you say something?"

And with a wave of his hand, Genma left, though not before ruffling Kakashi's hair.

Kakashi fought back a good-natured sigh as he smoothed out his hair.

Dusting the back of his pant leg as he stood up, Kakashi gave the orphanage one last look before he turned to leave. A flicker of a smile graced his features and Kakashi allowed himself to be hopeful again.

Disappearing in the next moment, his presence was erased but for the few leaves that fluttered to the ground, as well as an unspoken promise to the infant who was all alone in the world.

' _One day, I'll take you away from that damned place.'_


	2. calm the storm in my heart

**A/N.** This one's a bit of a short one, sorry.

* * *

There was a time when Kakashi had preferred working alone, when he found others to be nothing but a hindrance. But with Team Minato, that had changed.

He missed it, the sound of sensei's laughter, how the corners of his eyes crinkled in mirth as they took turns teasing the way Obito seemed to chatter nonstop. He missed how Rin liked to hum the same tune under her breath, the way her short brown hair had danced in the wind.

He hated solo missions. He hated the silence. Even missions with Yamato and the rest of his ANBU squad were better.

But somehow, solo missions were now no longer, well, solo for Kakashi. As he busied himself with setting up camp, his eye followed Kurama intently. Making his way around the area, the older man slapped a palm onto every second tree. Kakashi heard faint sizzling and blinked when he saw tendrils of smoke rising from the bark where Kurama had touched seconds ago. He had never seen, or heard of seals being used in such a way.

"Your creation?"

Kurama paused and glanced back at him before activating the last seal. Kurama dusted his palms before sitting down on the rock across from him with the fire burning between them.

"Yes," the other said and Kakashi could hear the hint of pride in the other's voice. "It is a lightning based sealing technique that creates an invisible barrier around the area and zaps any approaching nin before they get too close."

Impressed, Kakashi nodded thoughtfully. While he was by no means an expert on seals, he wasn't terrible at it. With the Yondaime as his teacher, Kakashi was bound to pick up some bits and pieces about sealing over the years. From the way the older man activated the seals without the use of ink and paper, Kakashi knew the other was skilled. Very skilled even, to have done it with perfect control of his chakra. Perhaps, he should ask the other for some pointers. After all, there was no harm in having more techniques in his arsenal. Just in case.

After his two weeks' break was up, Kakashi had knocked on the Hokage's door first thing in the morning. Sarutobi had given him a knowing look, as though he had long expected Kakashi's arrival before sliding open his drawer and retrieving a scroll. With a smile, he handed it to Kakashi.

Spying the colour of the ribbon that was wrapped around the scroll, Kakashi almost wanted to ask for a different one. Blue meant reconnaissance, yellow courier and red assassination. Single knot meant team mission whereas double knot meant solo.

The ribbon tied around the scroll in his hands was blue and double knotted.

If he asked for another one, there was chance that the Hokage would use his hesitancy as an excuse to force him to take another week off … Kakashi gulped before accepting the mission with a short bow.

All packed and ready to leave, Kakashi stepped outside the village and immediately came to a stop at the sight of Kurama leaning against the gate. From the way the other pushed himself off the gate and lifted his hand in salute, it was clear that the blond had been waiting for him. And that was how Kakashi found himself a tagalong.

The mission was simple and before long, they were heading back to Konoha ahead of schedule. He and Kurama had spent the journey back discussing a variety of things, from the political instability in Iwa to the corruption in Kiri. Somewhere in between, they delved into the subject of time travel and the possibility of going back in time.

"Sensei used space-time ninjutsu to perfect Hiraishin," Kakashi had offered before Kurama nodded absentmindedly.

Kakashi knew that their conversation about time travel was merely conjecture because there was no way time travel was possible, but he enjoyed speculating what could. And with Kurama, Kakashi found himself utterly engaged in their exchange. While Kakashi fired suggestions at Kurama, the older man calmly countered each and every one with his own opinion.

It has been too long since someone has challenged him to think. He had grown used to his squad agreeing with his strategies and with Kurama, Kakashi felt like he was with Team Minato again.

"Fuinjutsu would keep the person's memories intact," Kurama murmured to himself, lost in thought. "Life sustaining seals along the body could keep the blood well circulated, so that the jump wouldn't put too much strain on the body. A separate seal would be needed to create a new body …"

Apart from Kurama, Genma was the only other Kakashi spoke to about Minato. Eye flicking up to the blond, Kakashi watched the wistfulness reflected in Kurama's expression. It was as though he was envisioning the seals he would draw, almost as if he knew exactly what seals were needed.

Kakashi did not question how the other knew so much about his sensei, from his senjutsu and summoning contract with the toads to his incomplete rasengan.

And when he had spotted something peeking out from the other's weapon pouch and had quickly realized that it was one of Minato's kunai, being distinctively marked with the seal his teacher had created, Kakashi had said nothing.

"Kakashi."

Kakashi looked up and noticed the familiar landscape. They were just outside the borders of Konoha and this was where Kurama usually left him, leaving Kakashi to make the rest of the trip alone.

"Where exactly do you live?" Kakashi ventured. No matter how many times he had tried, Kakashi had been unable to detect the other's chakra signal within the village. Either the other had been concealing his presence, or he lived outside the village.

"A small town a little away from Konoha," Kurama gestured to the east.

To Kakashi's surprise, the older man then turned to him and smiled, "would you like to come over?"

At that, Kakashi found himself accepting the other's offer.

* * *

The next morning, Kakashi woke up a little later than usual. He quickly washed up and left his apartment through the window. Leaping down into an empty alleyway, he turned right and stepped onto the bustling streets. Making his way towards the centre of village, he spotted civilians and shinobi alike glancing curiously into the dango store a few strides ahead as they passed. Wondering what they were looking at, Kakashi subtly peered inside when he neared.

Sitting inside with a plate of half eaten dango on the wooden table in front of him and seemingly paying no heed to the attention he was attracting, Kurama was quietly sipping his tea. Kakashi had no idea how long he remained unmoving in the middle of the street, taken aback by the sight of the foreign nin calmly eating his dango. It was only when blue eyes looked up and twinkled with amusement that Kakashi blinked and approached the other man.

Picking out the hint of bewilderment on his face, Kurama quirked a smile and wordlessly gestured for Kakashi to sit opposite of him. Kurama waited for Kakashi to sit down before pushing the plate across the table. Blinking at the one remaining stick of dango, Kakashi gingerly picked it up and took a bite.

"Did you sleep well?"

Pausing mid-bite, Kakashi looked up and gave the other his are-you-serious look to which Kurama chuckled.

"Then, are you busy today?"

Kakashi shook his head and briefly wondered what the other was up to.

Kurama leaned forward and placing his elbows on the table, rested his chin on his intertwined fingers.

"Good," he merely said and smiled.

Around noon, Kakashi found himself standing outside the other's home. It was a Japanese style home situated a little way away from the town and Kakashi approved. It was impossible to be too paranoid. Kurama slid open the shoji door and stepped inside. Glancing back to Kakashi, the other motioned for him to come inside.

On their way here, Kakashi had seen the way the townspeople greeted Kurama with smiles and friendly waves. An elderly woman selling fruit had hobbled forward when she noticed them coming. Kurama had bent his head forward when the women shakily lifted a wrinkled hand to pat him fondly on the cheek. Kurama had smiled softly. A little boy with streaks of dried mud on his cheeks peeked out from behind the elderly woman and shuffled forward shyly.

"Welcome back, Kurama nii-san."

Kurama dropped some sweets into the boy's hands and Kakashi watched as he beamed up to the blond in childish wonder.

From this, it seemed like Kurama had lived in this town for a long time but when Kakashi stepped inside, the bareness stood out to him. There was a bookshelf, but only a quarter of the top shelf was filled with scrolls. There were no personal artefacts, no photographs or anything that indicated that the other had been here for long. Even if Kurama had moved in just the day before, Kakashi would have expected to see cardboard boxes littered around waiting to be unpacked. But this, this house appeared almost vacant.

It struck Kakashi that the more he was privy to aspects of the other's life, the less he seemed to know and the more questions he had. Questions such as which village did Kurama come from? He had not found anything that suggested that the older man was from Konoha, or any of the other hidden villages. But then again, if Kurama had been in Konoha before, Kakashi would have seen the other around.

Perhaps he had been in ANBU, but left before Kakashi had joined? But then, if he was a Namikaze, why hadn't Minato sensei mentioned him before? From what little he knew, the Namikaze clan was not original from Konoha. Maybe Kurama was told about Minato, or he heard stories about Konoha's Yellow Flash and then, decided to come here to Konoha but was too late. But that did not explain how Kurama knew things about Minato that only Konoha nin would know, nor how he came to possess one of his sensei's kunai. Had Minato known about Kurama, but never mentioned him to Kakashi or anyone else? It was possible that they were cousins, they were around the same age.

Kakashi wanted to smack his head against a table or something. He imagined that asking Kurama directly would not yield much. And Kakashi understood, he valued privacy and he would remain tight-lipped whenever he was asked about anything private.

"Tea?"

Kakashi was jolted from his thoughts and he looked up to see Kurama standing in the kitchen, a tea pot and two ceramic cups on the table before him. Realising he was still standing by the door, Kakashi gave a quiet 'yes, thank you' before settling into a chair.

He watched as Kurama prepared the tea with deft movements.

"Are you familiar with the eight principles of fuinjutsu?"

And that was how the rest of the night began.

"The possibilities are endless, Kakashi-kun," Kurama breathed as blue eyes came to life and he gestured animatedly with his hands. His excitement was contagious as Kakashi found himself following along, occasionally interrupting the other to ask about the intricacies.

Sometime before sunset, they had relocated from the kitchen to the veranda outside. They sat next to each other, their legs dangling over the edge of the wooden flooring. Between them, there was a plate of mochi and a steaming pot of green tea which Kurama kept warm by drawing a heating seal on the bottom side of the pot.

They talked well into the night, and in between there were moments of companionable silence during which Kakashi watched as Kurama tilted his head back and looked towards the moon. In these rare moments, the younger man witnessed the other's expression flicker across a barrage of emotions, from pure agony as if he had been stabbed in the chest repeatedly to utter despair as though he was watching the world burn and he could do nothing to save it. And while there were flickers of contentment in between, they were rare and infrequent.

Kurama was completely immersed in his own thoughts and during which Kakashi found himself thinking that Kurama was a contradiction. As a shinobi, he should know not show his emotions easily. He should be alert, and not lost in thought – vulnerable and ambushable. Yet, here he was, like a book opened for him to peruse. It was too easy for Kakashi, who drank in the other's thoughts and emotions greedily because being in ANBU for so long, he was almost unfamiliar with what emotions were. He cannot recall his childhood and the feelings of satisfaction and joy that should be associated with growing up. At times, Kakashi felt almost disjointed and lost. Beyond his duty to his village, he could not see his purpose. He was barely sixteen but he felt like he was nearing the end of his career. He could not imagine what Kurama felt, having lived through more war and conflict than he did. But for now, they were here listening as the cicadas sang their song and taking in the sight of stars winking down at them. And for now, Kakashi felt like all his worries and problems disappeared.

Perhaps, it was enough that Kurama was a Namikaze and he appeared in Kakashi's life. It was enough that Kurama was here, a quiet affirming presence beside Kakashi when once there had been three.


	3. here you are, without any warning

Good things never last.

Kakashi firmly believed that all good and happy things would inevitably end but on nights when plagued with fitful sleep, he prayed that it wasn't true.

The first hint of this premonition was on the morning when he jolted awake at the sound of his alarm. He quickly rolled around to glare at the offending object but unaware that he was lying at the edge of his bed, he promptly fell off instead. Ignoring the sharp pain in his back, Kakashi reached out a hand to quiet his alarm but ended up jamming the button and still the noise rang on. Peacefulness could not have come quicker when finally, the alarm was silenced with a kunai.

And when he went to make some coffee, Kakashi bit back a curse at the sight of curdled milk. One whiff of it almost had him gagging and he quickly replaced the cap before trashing it.

The day got worse when he stepped foot into the ANBU headquarters and immediately, felt many pairs of eyes directed towards him. Then, the murmuring began, and it seemed like everyone but Kakashi was privy to it. Left in the dark, he made to go grab his mission scroll and be off as quickly as possible when he felt an arm drape casually over his shoulders. Seeing that he was not well acquainted with anyone in ANBU but one, and knowing how insistent this individual was, Kakashi decided to suffer through the physical contact than face the consequences of shrugging the other off. Because Shiranui Genma was surprisingly very open to physical contact and the first time Kakashi was subject to one of his arm drapes, he had immediately thrown the other off … only for Genma to double his efforts. So, the best alternative was to just endure it the first time around.

"So," Genma drawled and Kakashi suppressed the urge to yank the senbon out of the other's mouth. Instead, he heaved a sigh.

"What is this I hear, our baby tensai is friends with a rogue nin?" Genma steered them towards the exit and Kakashi was only more than happy to leave the stares and whispers behind.

The first tactic to evading questions was to redirect the other's attention, which Kakashi adhered to like any model student.

"For the last time, I am not your or anyone's baby tensai. Are you suffering from selective hearing loss? Maybe you should reschedule your annual physical ex–"

"Don't insult my intelligence, Hatake."

Genma gave him his no-bullshit-or-else look and Kakashi almost clicked his tongue.

It has been over a year since their meeting outside the orphanage and having been in the other's company ever since, Kakashi recognised how despite the playful tone, Genma was waiting for an answer. The usual nonchalance was gone, replaced by a determination that Kakashi had only seen a handful of times.

The reverse was also true as Genma was more than well-versed at Kakashi's evasion techniques and Kakashi found himself grumbling at that.

Seeing that the other was not going to back down, the silver nin bit back the urge to point out that it was Genma who wanted him to be more social and here the other was, pushing them towards the exit before Kakashi had the chance to pick his next mission.

"Is it true that this friend of yours looks a lot like–" Genma lowered his voice, "the Yondaime?"

Kakashi pretended not to notice the waver in the other's voice, nor how affected Genma was. The arm that was still slung around his shoulder was tensed. And Kakashi understood because like him, Genma had never really let go of what had happened. It was then only fair that he knew about Kurama and maybe, Genma too could begin to heal.

"I'll take you to meet him," he eventually said. It was better this way anyway. It saves Kakashi from answering any questions that he would otherwise have to wrack his brain to manoeuvre around without giving too much away about the other's lineage. And with Genma's dogged persistence, it was only time before he would seek out Kurama and Kakashi would rather it be now with himself as mediator than face the possibility, no, certainty that Genma would burst into his apartment one day and interrogate him for answers.

Kakashi covertly grinned at the disbelief plastered on the other's face. Clearly, the older nin wasn't expecting that and Kakashi was only too amused to have outplayed him. The grin quickly faded when Kakashi realised that his yearlong secret was about to be out in the open and shared, and a small part of him mourned the fact that Kurama was not going to be his secret anymore.

* * *

The fateful meeting didn't take place until two days later, when Kakashi tracked down Kurama.

"There is someone who wants to meet you," was the first thing he said when he laid eyes on the other. It came out as a breath, and Kakashi found himself nervous at how the blond would react even though it has been over a year since their first encounter.

While the other's presence here on the outskirts of Konoha was no secret _because the townspeople probably cannot make the connection between this man and the Yondaime_ , Kakashi wasn't sure if Kurama was willing to meet Konoha nin who would undoubtedly make the connection in a heartbeat and demand answers. If the other answered in the negative, Kakashi would understand because he of all people understood the value of privacy. But if he said yes … Kakashi was strangely excited for Kurama to meet the people in his life, and while there are only a handful, the thought of the older man in his village mingling with others brought a smile to his lips.

There would be obstacles, of course. The questions, the suspicions, the interrogation. Perhaps Sandaime would be the biggest obstacle of them all. One word from the elder and Kurama could be hunted for the rest of his life.

And while Kakashi was certain the other was more than capable of fending off the adversary, he wasn't sure where his heart would lie should the Hokage order him to–

"Sure."

Kakashi blinked, and his previous thoughts vanished. Unsure if he heard correctly, Kakashi watched as Kurama sipped on his tea with a novel cracked open in front of him. The sound of a page being turned had Kakashi whispering in disbelief, "what?"

"Do you need your ears checked out, Hatake?" The smirk lingered on the other's lips and Kurama put down his book in favour of watching Kakashi's stunned face, "I said sure."

And that was how Kakashi found himself sitting at the table in Kurama's house two days later with a steaming cup of tea in front of him as Genma sat beside him staring unabashedly at Kurama. Undaunted by the newcomer's staring, Kurama poured himself some tea after serving his guests.

Kakashi was about to nudge the other beneath the table but Genma redirected his gaze.

The pair had only exchange a word of greeting so far and that was almost five minutes ago. Kakashi was beginning to regret bringing Genma when Kurama thankfully filled in the silence.

"So, Shiranui-san, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Genma was reaching for his tea when Kurama spoke, and the slight frown marring his features was quickly smoothed out before he looked up. For a while, Genma did not answer. Why did he want to meet this stranger, other than to see for sure if the man did indeed resemble his Hokage?

And the answer was yes, so much so that initially, he couldn't bear to look the other in eye for more than three seconds.

From the man's appearance to his mannerisms, it was too close a reminder of his friend and mentor. Brown eyes slid across to the third member of this party and Genma felt the frown reappear. Kakashi would have undoubtedly seen his sensei in this stranger and unlike many of Genma's peers who would have questioned how this man was related to the Yondaime, Genma was more concerned about why Kakashi had come to associate himself with this man.

Kakashi was young. As a ninja, he was at the age where he was not considered to be a child but Genma had seen grief, and he had seen what it did to people. He knew what it was like, losing everyone. Although he was only a couple years older than the other, Genma had friends and he was not averse to being social. After the war, he had people to fall back on.

But Kakashi? No one. He was truly a loner. All alone after the horrors of the war, with no one to turn to, Genma could see why the younger had befriended this stranger. And Genma desperately hoped it wasn't a friendship based on Kurama's resemblance to the Yondaime because if all Kakashi saw in the man was his sensei, then Kakashi was nowhere near beginning to heal.

Genma resolved to keep a close eye on the silver nin, just in case.

And so, Genma decided to answer truthfully but in his playful way, "I'm just making sure my kouhai is in safe hands. You know what they say about stranger danger."

Kakashi looked over to see a silly grin on Genma's face and a retort about not being his kouhai because they both entered ANBU around the same time was on the tip of his tongue but something about his grin was a bit strained.

Kakashi turned to Kurama and saw him give Genma a knowing look when the latter wasn't looking before setting down his teacup.

It wasn't long before Kakashi and Genma were making their way back to the village. Kakashi glanced at the other but Genma was looking straight ahead resolutely. He had watched the two bid each other farewell and then, seen how Genma had fallen solemn after the door closed behind them.

There was something off about the other and Kakashi had no idea what the cause was.

At the village gates, Genma came to a stop and seemed to mull over something before he turned to Kakashi.

"Don't worry Kakashi, I won't breathe a word about your friend."

Kakashi blinked. He had completely forgotten about the risk of Konoha nin seeing Kurama but since this was Genma, he wasn't concerned about the other blabbing.

Kakashi nodded, but Genma wasn't done yet.

"And one more thing," Genma held his eyes, "I'm not sure if I am in the position to say this but be careful, okay? This sounds stupid and I know you won't confuse Kurama with Minato-san but I just have to say this: Kurama isn't Minato-san. I just don't want you to get hurt."

Kakashi deliberated over Genma's words before he eventually understood what the other was saying and sighed.

"Yes, I know Kurama isn't Minato-sensei. Was this why you were acting weird before? The stuff about stranger danger?"

Genma ran his fingers through his hair before nodding.

There was pause before Kakashi smirked.

"I didn't know you were my mother," Kakashi took off, knowing that it wouldn't be long before Genma's brain kicked into gear.

"Get your ass back here Hatake!"

With their game of chase, thoughts and worries about the Yondaime and Kurama disappeared.

* * *

It was not long before rumours of Kakashi's acquaintance with a rogue nin left the ANBU headquarters and reached the Hokage.

The tapping on his window put a pause on Kakashi's morning routine. The ANBU outside indicated that the Hokage wanted to see him with quick hand seals before he leapt off his balcony.

Knowing that this was not about a mission because otherwise, the ANBU would have handed him a scroll with the Hokage's instructions, it could only be about Kurama. He was certain that Genma would have kept his promise about not blabbing so the Hokage must have heard it from the rumours.

Kakashi readied himself to be interrogated but he had to be careful about how much he revealed. There was a very fine line between loyalty to his Hokage and being branded as a traitor. The best outcome would be that this would not be about Kurama but rather, something completely different. Chances were slim though.

While Kurama had not said anything about keeping him a secret, Kakashi was quite sure that given the choice, Kurama wouldn't want his identity known.

Kakashi fought the urge to sigh. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Far too quickly, he had arrived at the Hokage's tower and outside the Hokage's office. Steeling himself, Kakashi rapped on the door and waited.

"Come in, Kakashi."

Turning the doorknob, Kakashi walked into the room and closed the door behind him quietly. The Hokage had a pipe in his hands and paperwork littered on the desk before him.

With a smile, he gestured for Kakashi to come closer.

"My boy," the Sandaime started before setting down his pipe and cutting to the chase. "Is there something you would like to tell me?"

Kakashi held the other's gaze. He had not expected the Sandaime would ask him in a roundabout way, to play on his guilt. He was making Kakashi choose between his duty to the village and his secret. The Hokage knew exactly what was going on, but he wanted to hear it from Kakashi himself.

Jaw clenched, Kakashi breathed out to calm himself down.

"Can you be more specific, Sandaime-sama?"

There. Kakashi would not answer if the Hokage wouldn't ask him directly. This way, Kakashi could be sure about how much the elder knew, and thus, he could gauge how much he could reveal without compromising Kurama.

Sandaime smiled and indulged him, "I know that he has helped you in your missions, Kakashi."

Kakashi froze. Damn mission reports. He knew he made no mention of Kurama in his reports, but he wouldn't put it past the Hokage to be able to read between the lines.

"If he means Konoha no harm, then he is a friend."

The Hokage was about to continue when there was a knock. Looking up, the Sandaime called out, "what is it?"

The voice on the other side was slightly muffled, "there is someone who would like to speak to you, Hokage-sama."

"Who is it?" The elder asked tiredly.

"A Namikaze Kurama."

At the name, Kakashi snapped his head around. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Hokage tense.

At the door stood Kurama, dressed in a simple civilian shirt and casual black pants. Blond hair was longer and more tamed than when Kakashi first met him, and it made the other resemble his sensei more.

Kurama came to stand beside Kakashi, and he felt the other's sleeve brush against him.

The Sandaime stilled in shock, his eyes glued onto Kurama.

"Hokage-sama, it is an honour to meet you," Kurama bowed gracefully from the waist.

Kakashi watched silently as Kurama locked eyes with the Hokage. There must have been some inaudible exchange because the Hokage nodded before turning to Kakashi.

"Have the day off, Kakashi-kun."

And that was how he found himself dismissed from the office and escorted out the Hokage's tower.

Baffled about what had transpired between the two nin, Kakashi decided that it was perhaps a good thing that Kurama appeared and took matters into his own hands. With that in mind, Kakashi turned and made his way towards his favourite sweet shop for a well deserved snack for all the brain cells he had lost today.


	4. the walls come tumbling down

It was not the first time Hatake Kakashi was booted out of the Hokage's office, but it was the first time he deigned not to march right back in because really, he'd rather not get involved in the blow-up that was about to happen.

And so, Kakashi looked up to the sky and noting it was the perfect weather for cloud watching, he made his way to the training ground to do just that. After all, he was certain that this was going to take a while and Kakashi wanted to ambush Kurama the moment he was done.

Making sure to pick an empty training ground, Kakashi settled down onto the ground behind a tree and away from direct sunlight. Sliding an arm behind his head, he watched as the clouds rolled by and before long, found himself lulled to sleep.

* * *

And that was the sight that greeted Kurama two hours later when he silently appeared on the tree branch directly above the silver haired nin. Not surprised that the other was still asleep as Kurama was silent when he needed to be, the blond swung his legs forward from a crouch to sit more comfortably.

As he watched Kakashi's chest rise and fall, a smile ghosted his lips. It had taken him over a year to lower Kakashi's guard. No longer did Kurama spy grave sadness that once hid in the other's eyes. Kurama could still picture the agony in those eyes the first time he decided to show himself to the younger nin but more than anything, Kurama had frozen at the sight of how dead that single visible grey eye had been.

There had only been death written in that eye and Kurama shuddered at the thought of what his Kakashi of his time had been through. So he vowed to intervene even though the voice, the rational voice of reason in his head warned him against it but he wasn't Uzumaki Naruto if he didn't intervene when his precious people needed help. Although this Kakashi wasn't his precious person then, he was now.

Kurama knew he had made the right decision when he invited the other over for tea and they spoke about whatever that crossed their minds. As the night wore on and the moon waned above their heads, Kurama had taken to glance over at his silent companion ever so often and felt accomplished as the heaviness in the other's eyes slowly retreated.

As time went on, as Kurama invited himself to each and every one of Kakashi's solo missions, life re-entered those eyes and Kurama was amazed and so, so happy at how Kakashi had begun to heal.

The next thing was getting the other to socialise more, and Kurama ignored how hypocritical of him that was but this was about Kakashi. The Kakashi of his time, though occasionally a hermit was comfortable when with friends. It didn't matter how much he had complained about Gai being excessively youthful, because Kurama had seen the invisible rays of contentedness that radiated from his sensei. Being a loner was never healthy for one's mental health, which was why Kurama sought to nudge the other towards spending time with his fellow peers, even if it were just a couple of words to his teammates outside of missions.

And so, when Kakashi came knocking that day, saying how someone wants to meet Kurama, the blond had noted the faint annoyance in the other's voice which was unlike his usual monotone voice. Though, it wasn't genuine annoyance but rather, Kurama had rejoiced later, _fondness._

And no matter how much Kakashi wanted to convince Kurama that his fellow Konoha nin was a nuisance, Kurama knew better. He was more than happy to compromise his identity to entertain this guest, knowing full well that should the Hokage catch word of this, ANBU would be at his doorstep in no time.

Truthfully, he was surprised that he was able to avoid detection by the Hokage for so long. He knew it wouldn't be too long now and when there was a frantic knock on his door, Kurama was there in a heartbeat to open it only to catch Shiranui Genma in mid-knock. It was clear that the other had just rolled out of bed and threw on some clothes because his hair unkempt and his shirt sported a coffee stain, probably a day old.

Eyebrow raised, Kurama asked, "Yes, Shiranui-san?"

"Kakashi has been summoned by the Hokage," the words came out in a rush of air.

Without needing Genma to say anymore, Kurama understood.

Straightening his shoulders, Kurama nodded.

"Thanks, I'll handle it."

Genma pinned him down with a determined gaze, "Kakashi's career is at stake here."

There was a warning in the other's words but instead of being offended that the other felt the need to remind Kurama of the risks, Kurama found the corners of his mouth quirking up because it was clear that Kakashi had found an unlikely friend in Shiranui Genma.

Kurama merely nodded once more before disappearing in a whirl of leaves.

Left behind, Genma ran a tired hand over his face and spun on his heel to begin his journey back to Konoha. It was way too early in the morning for all of this.

* * *

Kakashi awoke to a breeze rushing through his hair and the feeling of his skin being warmed by the sun. Breathing out a sigh, Kakashi was about to drift back to sleep when he remembered about Kurama and the Sandaime. All remnant of sleep left him in a rush and his eyes snapped open.

He felt, rather than saw another's presence behind him and Kakashi sat up in a flash and spun around to see Kurama sitting with his back against the tree, twirling a stray leaf between his fingers.

Golden strands of hair fluttered with the wind and at Kakashi's sudden movements, the older man looked up and gave him a wide smile.

"Kakashi," Kurama breathed as the corners of his eyes crinkled.

His heartrate coming back down, Kakashi asked, "how long have you been here?"

With the leaf sitting in the middle of his palm, Kurama blew and they both watched as the leaf sailed through the air.

"Not that long."

Eye twitching as he noticed it was well over midday so Kurama was clearly understating the time he had let him sleep, Kakashi sighed.

"Well?" Kakashi grumbled.

Kurama smiled knowingly, "hmm?"

He had no doubt that Kurama knew exactly what he was asking. It was like with the Sandaime this morning all over again.

"How did it go? Was the Hokage persistent?"

Kurama hummed in the affirmative and didn't speak for a long while, looking up to the sky. Kakashi took this opportunity to study the other's face, looking for clues.

Strangely, the other didn't look irritated at all. Instead he looked almost peaceful, like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"We …" Kurama started, and he appeared to be searching for the right words in his mind, "we came to a compromise."

Kakashi blinked, having not expected that.

"A compromise …?"

Kurama unfolded his long legs from under him and stood up.

"Yes," he merely said while brushing the grass from his pants.

When he was done, he held out a hand to Kakashi, palm up.

Taking it, Kakashi got up and there were more questions at the tip of his tongue.

Before he could voice them, Kurama smiled grimly, "confidential, I'm afraid."

Kakashi grumbled again but the hand that settled atop his head made Kakashi go silent.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi," the other murmured quietly. In his head, Kurama made a silent promise to tell Kakashi about it when everything was done and dusted.

Fingers combed through his hair, and Kakashi swore that it was definitely _not_ satisfying and no, he did not tilt his head back so that those fingers could massage his scalp.

* * *

"Namikaze, did you say?" Sandaime sat forward and brought his arms up on his table to intertwine his fingers. Old eyes settled on Kurama as thoughts of who this man could be raced through his head.

"Your relation to Namikaze Minato?"

This was the crucial moment. Should Kurama lie and spin a tale on how he just coincidentally resembled the Yondaime, or should he lay out the truth and let someone else in on the secret?

And to be perfectly honest, Kurama was tired. Having to lie and work around Kakashi's difficult questions for the past year only made Kurama less inclined to lie to possibly the only man who would believe him and could help him make a difference. After all, he came back to change the future and Kurama, as he was now, working alone and without much authority in this world was not making much progress.

It was a gamble.

A gamble Kurama had no choice but to take.

"Do you believe in time travel?" Kurama finally asked.

His question gave Sandaime pause, who sat up a little straighter at the change in topic.

Kurama noticed the question in the other's eyes before he dropped the bomb.

"What if …" Kurama began, uncertain whether this would convince the Hokage.

"What if I said that I am privy to the events of future?"

He kept a careful watch of the other from the corner of his eyes.

The furrowing in the other's brow had Kurama imagining the gears turning in the Hokage's mind.

"You are from the future?" The Hokage finally asked, though there was some suspicion lacing his words. Kurama did not blame him, time travel was basically unheard of anyway. It was only through the combined efforts of himself and Jiraiya that they were able to do it.

"Twenty-one years, to be exact."

Sarutobi's eyes snapped up, and understanding dawned on him. The resemblance to the Yondaime and being over twenty years from the future meant that–

"You're Minato's son," his eyes widened.

Then, hesitantly, he ventured, "Naruto ..?"

His breath shuddered as Kurama fought to keep back his tears. The last time someone had called him by his birth name was a long long time ago. He had missed the sound of it.

The Sandaime had always been dear to him, and he knew that the older man was fond of Naruto despite his pranks and rowdiness.

"Yes, ji-ji."

"How–"

"It was Jiraiya. Jiraiya brought me back."

There was a wistfulness in Kurama's smile as he thought about his godfather.

Before he accidentally revealed too much, Kurama quickly added, "I came back to change things."

The Hokage nodded, lips pursed to keep from asking about what had happened in the future.

"There has been a couple of disappearances," Kurama began.

Sarutobi rifled through his paperwork, having guessed what the younger man was referring to. "In the towns bordering Konoha?"

Kurama nodded.

There was sadness in the Hokage's eyes when he found what he was looking for.

"Ah yes, there has been a few children reported as missing from those towns."

Kurama flickered over the paperwork as the Hokage laid out the reports in front of him.

Cautiously, he asked, "when did Orochimaru leave the village?"

His student had always been a sore spot for the Hokage, and so Kurama was careful in bringing attention to that topic.

The Hokage swallowed before looking up, "you believe Orochimaru is linked to these disappearances?"

As much as he hoped they weren't related, it was too much a coincidence for Orochimaru to not be involved.

"Five years," the Hokage finally replied.

Five years. Seeing that these disappearances were fairly localised, it was likely that Orochimaru had yet to join the Akatsuki.

Good, Kurama thought. It was easier to hunt the missing nin down now before he became affiliated with the organisation. It would be harder then, when Orochimaru would undoubtedly have a partner.

"I will investigate this," Kurama promised.

The Hokage frowned slightly. "You are not a Konoha shinobi, it isn't your job."

"There is no shinobi in Konoha right now who can take on Orochimaru," Kurama countered. "Besides you, only Jiraiya and Tsunade can, and seeing that they are both out of the village …"

At the sight of the other's uncertainty, Kurama's voice softened.

"I know Orochimaru was your student but he has done many cruel things. Even if Jiraiya or Tsunade were here, it would better for me to go."

The Hokage mulled over his words before he finally sighed.

"Does he … does he become a problem in the future?"

Kurama didn't answer, but that was more than enough for Sarutobi to realise how much of an issue his student would become. Perhaps it was time to finally let go.

"Very well," he said, leaning back.

Kurama looked up, surprised the Hokage relented so quickly.

"But with you not being a Konoha-nin, I cannot assign you this mission."

Kurama was ready to voice his disagreement, that he would go with or without the Hokage's blessing before Sarutobi raised his hand to halt the other.

"I cannot assign you this mission, unless you become a Konoha-nin ... or I hire you as a free agent," he said slyly.

"Given that you haven't befriended anyone but Kakashi in Konoha in the past year, I'm going to assume that you have no intention of being known to the village. Very well," Sarutobi slid open a drawer and retrieved a set of documents. "Free agent it is. Read through this contract and sign at the bottom."

Kurama quickly did so and after he signed his name, he looked up to see the Hokage place a plain white mask before him.

To answer his unspoken question, the Sandaime nodded to the ANBU mask grimly, "too many questions will be asked otherwise."

Kurama picked up the smooth porcelain mask and clipped it to his side.

"Come by in two days and I'll have your mission written up for you."

Kurama nodded and made for the door. However, halfway there, he swung his head back.

"One more thing, how old is Uchiha Itachi right now?"


	5. where is this road supposed to lead

Kurama received the mission instructions two days later at the Hokage's office.

With a quick knock and the Sandaime's muffled invitation to come in, Kurama was soon standing before the Hokage.

He had done a lot of thinking in the past two days, on how to track down Orochimaru and who to bring with him.

The first person his mind had gone to was Genma. As an ANBU operative, he had the stealth, strength and tactical thinking needed for this mission. Another reason why Kurama was inclined to bring Genma was because he was somewhat familiar with the man. Although they have only spoken on two separate occasions, Kurama knew from his time that the other was reliable, well-rounded and a quick thinker.

The next person Kurama had considered was Yamato, who was currently in ANBU and likely part of Kakashi's squad. Though the Yamato of this time was young, being barely fifteen in age, his mokuton would be helpful in flushing out the snake. It was also likely that Yamato had faced, or at the very least seen Orochimaru in action so he had knowledge of the other's techniques. This would undoubtedly help with their battle plan. However, with the mokuton user's history as Orochimaru's test subjects, Kurama was still deciding whether it would be mentally healthy for Yamato to be on the team. At the moment, it was apparent that the pros of bringing him outweighed the potential downsides.

As for the last member … Kurama had ultimately decided that he would not bring Kakashi because he had a plan. The idea came to him around a week ago and he had been mulling over it since.

He wanted Kakashi to stay in the village to mentor Uchiha Itachi because if it all worked out, it would be the sure-fire way of preventing the massacre.

When he was asked about Uchiha Itachi's age, the Hokage had said that the Uchiha heir was ten which meant that Kurama only had three years or so before the massacre happened. The main problem was that the Uchiha clan was segregated from the rest of the village in more ways than one. The Uchiha compound was on the outskirts of the village, furthest from the Hokage's Tower. The Uchiha police force consisted predominantly of Uchiha shinobi. The fact that the Uchiha were very powerful in their own right with their sharingan and their specialisation in katon jutsu only served to fuel the people's fear. It was a vicious cycle where the rest of the village feared and ostracised the Uchihas and the Uchiha clan kept to themselves, further separating themselves from the village. And despite all the work they put into the village and maintaining peace, the Uchiha felt underappreciated.

The tipping point had to be the Kyuubi's attack. Knowing that only the sharingan could control the beast, people pointed fingers and whispered amongst themselves. Thus, the Uchiha found themselves completely isolated and alone. From that point, the plan to overthrow the Hokage and rebel took root.

This plan must be thwarted as soon as possible. Kurama had to somehow force the Uchiha elders and leader to discard this plan. He had to make them see that a coup was the last thing they wanted. He had to reverse their hatred towards the village, maybe by making them feel appreciated and erasing the village's doubt.

Kurama knew that it had been Tobi who manipulated the Kyuubi to attack the village. He needed to expose him, to show the village that it wasn't the clan's agenda but an outsider's. Yet he was not sure if revealing that Uchiha Obito was the mastermind would be too much of a bomb-drop for both Kakashi and the Uchiha clan.

Kakashi would crumble if he knew. He had only just begun to heal.

No, Kurama had to find another way around this. Kurama needed to think about it later, perhaps after Orochimaru was dead and preferably without any means of reviving himself. For now, his focus must be on the snake Sannin.

He needed allies. His goal in bringing down the snake was secondary. The massacre was at the front of his mind, his biggest obstacle at the present. To tackle that, he needed allies, he needed to set things in motion.

Steering Uchiha Itachi towards Kakashi would be the first step to bridging the gap between the clan and the village. If others saw how Itachi and Kakashi were working together despite the bad blood between the clan and Kakashi, which arose because of Kakashi's sharingan, it would show a different side of the Uchiha – a more village-orientated side, with a loyalty to the Hokage.

Another upside to this arrangement was that Kakashi could train Itachi and as Kakashi was a sharingan-user, Itachi would be without his kekkei genkai advantage. While Itachi could easily just find training partners in members of his clan, Kakashi would be a new opponent with different fighting techniques. This way, Itachi would be forced to adapt and think differently.

As for Kakashi, who was yet to be familiar with his sharingan, this would serve as an excellent opportunity for him to observe and fight another sharingan user in action. While Kakashi lacked the stamina that the Uchiha were blessed with, which allowed them to use their sharingan efficiently without expending unnecessary chakra, Kurama was certain that the silver-haired nin would find a way around this shortcoming.

Kurama found no downsides to this plan. All he needed was the Hokage's approval, and as the Hokage himself was eager for a solution to the Uchiha problem, there was no reason why he wouldn't be happy with this arrangement.

So, he needed Kakashi in Konoha, working with Itachi to work towards bringing the Uchiha closer to the rest of the village while Kurama tackled the Orochimaru problem. After much consideration, he decided that having another Uchiha on the plan was ideal. If the Sandaime sent an Uchiha on a team on such an important mission, it would show the Uchiha clan that the Hokage trusted them; had faith that an Uchiha would get the job done. Additionally, it would show the village that the Hokage believed the success of capturing and decapitating Orochimaru hinged on this team, on an Uchiha.

It was a good plan. A bit rough around the edges, but a solid start in the right direction. The village would only get stronger with the Uchiha alive. All Kurama needed to do, in essence was to steer them in the right direction.

Itachi was very strong. Kurama had no qualms about Itachi being an asset to the village. Not only was the raven-haired nin physically capable, as Kurama recalled the handful of times he had crossed paths with the Itachi in his time and how the other had an air around him that intimidated Kurama despite his best efforts to remain calm. Itachi was dedicated. Kurama was certain that once Itachi recognised what he was trying to do by pairing him with Kakashi, the younger would align himself to Kurama's plans. After all, the Itachi in his time had been willing to sacrifice anything and everything for his village. Dedication didn't even begin to describe the devotion Uchiha Itachi had for Konoha.

And with Itachi being an asset in the village … Kurama was sure the other would rise up the ranks in a couple of years. If he joined ANBU, Itachi would most likely be recommended to be commander before he reached twenty. And if he didn't, Kurama entertained the possibility of Itachi being Hokage one day. With his passion and coolheadedness, Itachi would undoubtedly make a good Hokage. Konoha would flourish.

A lifetime ago, Kurama would never have entertained the thought of another becoming Hokage. It was his life's dream after all. But now … he felt content where he was now. He no longer had the desire to lead the village. This wasn't _his_ Konoha, a home to _his_ precious people. There was no Sakura running back to back shifts at the hospital, no Tsunade threatening to throttle him for calling her a hag, no Kakashi-sensei with his ridiculous excuses for turning up three hours late to their training sessions.

Most of all, the villagers and shinobi didn't know him.

To him, they were strangers wearing familiar faces. And he was tired of the politics and diplomacy. He had seen first hand the manipulating and manoeuvring Tsunade had to painstakingly come up with when things didn't go her way. He was tired of the games, he wanted no part of it. All he wanted was his precious people to be safe.

* * *

The Hokage was only mildly baffled at his choice of teammates, but Kurama was nothing but determined to see this through. As he revealed the backbone of his plan to join the Uchiha clan and the village once more, Sandaime's eyes widened in understanding. There was an eagerness to the Hokage's movements as he sipped his tea.

"I will brief the others," the Hokage decided and Kurama let out a breath he didn't realise he had held. It would be easier this way.

"When did you want to leave for mission?"

'As soon as possible' was at the tip of his tongue when Kurama realised that he needed to take care of the Kakashi and Itachi side of things first before he left. While the Hokage said that he was going to inform the pair, Kurama felt it was necessary that he dropped the bomb on Kakashi first. At that thought, Kurama bit back a wince. Hopefully that wouldn't go too badly because after all, he had not asked the silver-haired jounin whether he wanted to train with Itachi. Kurama fought the urge to sigh as a 'no' from either party would seriously through a wedge in his plans.

He had gone home after his meeting with the Third, his thoughts centering around how to break it to Kakashi on his way back. He had planned to go home, think about it for bit and if the solution failed to present itself to him, Kurama would turn in for the night and deal with it in the morning. The plan went down the drain when he detected a familiar chakra signal in his home. Landing lightly in front of his doorstep, Kurama ran a tired hand through his locks. Great, he had no time to prepare. Unlocking the door, he shucked his sandals before nodding to his unexpected house guest.

Nursing a cup of hot tea, Kakashi was sitting at his table and looking so comfortable with his ankles crossed and a content smile gracing his features. Kurama hid the faint amusement that crossed his face when the other hummed in greeting. He had come a long way with Kakashi as his mind casted him back to when the other was still suspicious of the blond's intentions.

' _He still is,'_ his mind tactlessly supplied. While most of the suspicion was gone, Kurama knew that there was an internal war raging within the younger. It was a war between trusting Kurama or keeping his guard up.

Kurama was far from offended by it. A shinobi could never be too careful, although he hoped in time Kakashi would find it in him to have faith in Kurama.

"There's something bothering you."

Kurama glanced up from where he was staring at the table top, having been lost in his thoughts. Kakashi must have seen the stillness in Kurama, for he frowned slightly.

Kurama did not immediately respond, and instead took his time to gather his thoughts.

He gestured to Kakashi's hidden eye, "have you done much training with your eye?"

Of all the things that the other could be dealing with, his eye was not something Kakashi expected Kurama to be bothered about.

Blinking back his confusion, Kakashi shook his head.

The Uchiha despised the fact that an outsider had access to their precious kekkai genkai and they could do nothing as the Hokage put his foot down when they kicked up a fuss about retrieving Obito's eye. There was no doubt the Uchiha would not divulge anything regarding the sharingan to him. Thus, Kakashi had no way of understanding how his eye worked barring his own experimentation, which he had to fumble through himself. He did not want to try anything on a comrade, just in case he accidentally crippled a fellow shinobi and so had to resort to playing around with it.

Kurama looked almost grim and Kakashi was surprised when the other bit his lip. Was Kurama nervous? It was the first time Kakashi had seen the other like this, as if he was unsure. By the minute, Kakashi was getting more and more confused.

"The Hokage and I spoke," Kurama began, blue eyes pinned onto his grey one. "We believe that a spar with another sharingan user would be useful."

Kakashi's eyebrow rose in surprise. A spar with an Uchiha? While it would shed light on the intricacies of how the sharingan worked, allowing Kakashi to maybe find blind spots and weaknesses in the kekkai genkai, it was simply-

"Impossible."

There was no way the Uchiha clan would allow for this. Kakashi fought the urge to shake his head in emphasis. No way.

Despite all that, Kurama only smiled knowingly.


	6. I'm going out to see what I can sow

**A/N.** I took more liberties with some facts and had to fiddle around with the ages of some characters.

Enjoy!

* * *

The sky was still dark and sun had yet to rise when the three shinobi approached the village gates. It was only when they leapt down from the roof, landing soundlessly on the ground that they realised that their team captain was already there. With his arms crossed over his chest, _and it was clearly a male given his lean built_ the nin was leaning casually against the not-yet-opened gates.

With a plain white mask on, the others probably had no clue about the identity of their captain but Genma already had a sneaking suspicion. He almost smirked when the man stepped out of the shadows and the moonlight fell onto shockingly blond hair. _Bingo._

To be perfectly honest, Genma already had an idea about who their team captain might be when the Sandaime summoned him and his would-be teammates, Uchiha Shisui and Yamato to his office yesterday morning. While he had not yet worked with either shinobi, he has of course heard about the proficiency of Uchiha Shisui and his body flicker technique which was renowned even within the Uchiha clan of prodigies. Genma has also heard bits and pieces about the other, Yamato. Nothing concrete though, only that he was the only survivor of one of Orochimaru's failed experiments a few years ago.

"At ease," the Hokage murmured.

Genma instinctually relaxed his shoulders. He didn't realise that he had tensed up in anticipation.

"I have a mission for the three of you and while I know that none of you have worked together before, I have the utmost faith that you will succeed," Sarutobi impressed on them.

Genma almost swallowed nervously at how serious the Hokage sounded. It must be a _very_ important mission.

With his fingers intertwined and elbows resting comfortably on the table before him, the Hokage fixed the three of them with a gaze that made them unconsciously straighten. It was a beat before he spoke again.

"The mission is to retrieve the missing-nin Orochimaru." The Sandaime swallowed almost hesitantly before he continued, "and if retrieval is not possible, then you have my permission to kill."

Genma's eyes widened in surprise and his senbon was dangerously close to fall out of his lax mouth. Of all things, he had not expected this. He knew how much the Saidaime loved his former student. It was not a secret that he was partial to Orochimaru and more accepting than his 'oversights' than the other two Sannins. To think that the Sandaime would willingly order for arrest and possibly execution of his former favourite student was …

His jaw snapped shut when it hit him.

Kurama. It must have been his call.

While maybe he should be more concerned about the amount of influence the foreign nin has on Kakashi and now the Sandaime, Genma was pleased that Kurama has spurred on this call to deal with Orochimaru. It was sick how the Sannin conducted so many dubious and cruel experiments on children without consent and in secret … and how the Hokage turned a blind eye to it all. Those children were kidnapped off the streets or lured away with promises of food and shelter. He remembered being utterly helpless and enraged at the lack of action and retribution the Hokage handed down. Because those were innocent children. It could have happened to one of Genma's nephews or nieces.

And now, he was relieved. Relieved for the chance to finally put an end to the bastard.

The Hokage handed them a mission scroll each, detailing the time of departure and attached was information about Orochimaru's known skills and jutsus. Genma pocketed his without looking at the contents just yet, and noted that both his teammates did the same.

Now, there was only one question left to ask and it was Yamato who voiced it.

"Who is leading the team?"

At that, a ghost of a smile graced the Hokage's face and some of the sadness ebbed away.

"You will find out tomorrow."

* * *

Namikaze Kurama regarded his team and nodded his greeting.

"I'm Kurama, I will be your taichou," his voice was muffled slightly behind his mask.

He noted how Uchiha Shisui seemed excited, his fingers drummed imperceptibly against his leg. Was it the adrenaline or the idea of hunting a Sannin? Kurama supposed he would find out sooner or later. After all, he had every intention of bonding with the three during their travels. It would be too boring and tense otherwise.

Flicking his eyes over to Genma, Kurama almost sighed when the other smirked knowingly. Kurama wagered that the jounin had no trouble figuring out it was him even before he spoke, despite the mask. Noting how tired Genma looked, Kurama bit back the cheeky remark about the other's dark circles.

Lastly, he turned to Yamato. After much debate, the Hokage convinced him that having Yamato on the team would be a good outcome.

"Perhaps it will be good for him. Playing a role in Orochimaru's capture will give him some closure," the Hokage had said.

Yamato was stoic and too blank for Kurama to get a feel of his true thoughts and emotions. He wasn't sure if being part of the team to retrieve or kill Orochimaru would help the younger nin overcome the psychological trauma of seeing other infants die, unable to handle the Shodaime's DNA. Kurama vowed to keep a close eye on him, he'd really rather not scar the kid any further.

"Before we head off, are there any burning questions?" Kurama waited for a moment and when there was no response, he nodded. Inwardly, he pondered, _no questions about my identity nor about my mask? What an interesting lot._

"Let's go." Spinning on his heel, Kurama sprung from the ground and over the gate. He did not wait for the others and sped into the forest, confident that they can keep up.

* * *

Kakashi has no idea how Kurama managed to do it, but he would never have thought he'd be standing across Uchiha Itachi with the both of them decked out in full training gear. When he woke up this morning and ran a hand through his bed hair, Kakashi pinched himself. Nope, not a dream. It was really the day he would be sparring with the Uchiha Itachi, prodigy of the Uchiha clan.

When Kurama implied that he wanted Kakashi and the Uchiha heir to spar, Kakashi thought he was yanking his leg. Because there was no way that was going to happen. As if the prim and proper Uchiha clan, one of the clans that founded Konoha would allow their precious heir train with him. As if they will let their clan secrets be taught to an outsider.

But now, standing across a ten-year old Uchiha Itachi who had a sheathed katana attached to his side and Kakashi wondered how in the world had Kurama achieved the impossible. For one, Kakashi only got a stink eye when he arrived at the Uchiha gates to schedule the first training session with the heir. He was let in quite easily, and while he made his way cautiously towards the main house braced for an ambush, Kakashi arrived unharmed. Tentatively knocking on the shoji door, Kakashi made a conscious effort not to offend the person that would slide open the door.

"Ah, Hatake-san, please come in."

Lost in his thoughts and still skeptical of how he encountered no problems on his way in, Kakashi blinked and took in the serene smile the Uchiha matriarch gave him. Dressed impeccably in a simple blue kimono, Uchiha Mikoto waited for Kakashi to go in.

Slipping off his sandals, Kakashi bowed slightly, "thank you Uchiha-san."

"Please, Mikoto is fine."

Kakashi stepped inside the spacious house and noted how there was only two chakra signals: one was Mikoto, the other was undeveloped - Uchiha Sasuke, her second son. Which meant that Itachi wasn't home.

"Call me Kakashi then," he murmured. "I was hoping to talk to your son but I assume he's on a mission?"

If Mikoto was offended by how straight to the point Kakashi was being, she made no mention of it. Perhaps she sensed how Kakashi was not here for a social visit, she refrained from offering him tea.

"Yes, Itachi-kun left this morning. Perhaps I can pass on a message for you?"

Kakashi wondered if the matriarch knew about the training sessions he and Itachi were to have. Based on how she didn't even seem surprised when he knocked, Kakashi was willing to bet she knew.

"Please tell him to come find me if he is up for a spar."

There, that gives the Uchiha prodigy the option to pull out, or the time to rest after his mission if he needs to. Although if the rumours about Uchiha Itachi being a workaholic were true, Kakashi had no doubt that he would receive a visit from him very soon.

Inclining his head, Kakashi bid the matriarch farewell and disappeared with a turn.

It was four days later when Kakashi opened his window and swung out that he felt it. A very deliberate spike in chakra coming from the closest training ground. It had to be Uchiha Itachi. Kakashi made his way there, patting his weapons pouch to make sure he's got a few kunais, senbons and shurikens with him. How did Itachi even know where to find him? Kakashi almost groaned when it hit him, because it must have been Kurama who told him where to find Kakashi. Making a mental note to take it up with the older nin when he got back from his mission, Kakashi spotted the Uchiha from afar.

Landing silently a few metres from the other, Kakashi was surprised at how … young Uchiha Itachi looked. The silver-haired nin noted how Itachi barely reached his shoulder. He took in the pale face, long ebony hair and training gear. For a moment, neither spoke (while Kakashi was making his own observations about the other, he had no doubt the Uchiha genius was doing the same) until Itachi bowed slightly in greeting.

"Good morning Hatake-san. I'm Uchiha Itachi, Kurama-san approached me a week ago about training with you."

Kakashi's eyebrows rose when the kid- _no, Itachi was definitely not a kid_ introduced himself. And - _a_ _s if Kakashi didn't already know who the Uchiha heir was._

And then, Kakashi blinked. Kurama had personally approached Uchiha Itachi about this?

It made sense after a moment, of course Kurama would go to Itachi instead of the clan. It was likely that the Hokage himself broached the idea with the clan heads. Kakashi tried not to dwell on how _familiar_ the younger nin addressed Kurama, even though they only met last week. No, Kakashi was definitely not sulking.

Appearances aside, Kakashi found himself surprised yet not so surprised about how mature and calm Itachi was. Most kids his age were still at the academy, probably skipping class and hanging out with their friends. But with the pressure Uchiha Fugaku undoubtedly placed on his heir from an early age, Kakashi was not taken aback at how advanced Uchiha Itachi was for his age.

Glad that the other didn't seem like the type to make small talk, Kakashi squared his shoulders.

"Shall we get started then?"

As he bent his knees slightly and sent chakra down to the soles of his feet, Kakashi found himself oddly excited for their fight.

Perhaps the both of them inwardly decided not to use their sharingans this first time because their spar lasted for four hours and was limited to taijutsu, ninjutsu and some genjutsu on Itachi's part. While Itachi had greater reserves, Kakashi boasted greater experience. It was a tough fight that only came to an end when the sun rose high in sky at noon and they had started to draw the attention of some passerbys.

Knowing that their association would garner the attention of shinobi sooner or later, Kakashi would rather it be later and called off the spar.

"Alright, I think that's enough for the day," he straightened up and at his announcement, Itachi paused midway through a hand seal. Nodding in understanding, Itachi approached the older nin and bowed.

"Thank you for your time, Hatake-san. Will you be willing to spar again in the future?" Itachi asked.

Kakashi doesn't believe he would ever get over how proper and formal the Uchiha spoke. _Perhaps with time he would wear him down._

"I'm leaving tonight for a mission. When I return, I'll let you know."

Itachi nodded and gave him a small smile. Kakashi blinked, well what you do know, the kid can smile.

* * *

Genma had a forearm against a tree, he was hunched over and panting. He was too tired to sit down, and he knew that if he did, getting back up will be torture. They had been travelling for over half a day and Kurama only gave them a couple of short breaks. Giving the masked Kurama the stink-eye, Genma thought, _what a slave driver._ Even ANBU hadn't tired him out this much. Grumbling under breath about how Kurama was barely even winded, standing up straight with his face turned towards the road ahead of them while the rest of them struggled to catch their breath. Yamato was taking a sip out of his canteen and didn't look too exhausted. The Uchiha was crouched over the stream, cupping some water to splash over his face before straightening up.

"Tired already Genma?" Kurama's muffled voice teased.

Genma took the canteen Yamato offered and gulped down some water. Spinning on his heels, he approached the stream with every intention of ignoring the playful jab and refilling the canteen. God knows when they would find clean water again.

Kurama's amused chuckle behind him almost tempted him to turn around and fling the canteen at the other's head but with Kurama's heightened reflexes, Genma doubted that it would be a successful shot anyway.

He wondered why the other man was being so friendly with him because while he has been to Kurama's place and spoken with the man a couple times, their conversations were never this playf-

 _Oh._ From the corners of his eyes, Genma noticed how their other two teammates seem to relax minutely as the atmosphere lightened. His eyes flicked back to the blond nin who curled his lips knowingly.

Being on a team with an unknown nin must have been difficult for Yamato and Shisui, who were both relatively young and inexperienced. While Genma cannot boast to having a wealth of experience, he was part of the Yondaime's personal guard and accompanied the Yondaime on his negotiations to the other Hidden Villages. He has worked with shinobi from villages whereas it was highly likely Yamato and Shisui have not and they were uncertain about Kurama.

Yamato was in ANBU so he was familiar with having teammates with masks on. Shisui on the other hand, was unsure of what to make of Kurama who has not revealed anything about himself.

It was a good thing Kurama decided the atmosphere needed lightening. Who knew how long this mission was going to take - could be up to a few months. It would be challenging to work with a team that was unfamiliar with each other and therefore, had no trust in one another.

Genma wondered how Kurama would tackle this. If they were going to capture one of the Sannin, they need a team that gelled together and knew each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Thank God he wasn't taichou, what a headache Kurama was going to have.


	7. when will I see the shore?

Uchiha Shisui sat reclined against a boulder and stretched out his legs comfortably. The sun had set hours ago but their pace never faltered as they continued travelling deep into Earth country in the cover of the night. It was only until their team leader slowed to a stop that they leapt down from the tree tops into a small clearing and found some reprieve from hours of non-stop sprinting. Shisui could not stop the sigh of relief when Kurama gestured to set up camp.

While Shisui looked for a stream to refill their canteens, his teammates wordlessly tackled other tasks. Yamato took it upon himself to gather the wood they needed for a fire (for obvious reasons) while Shiranui Genma riffled through their packs for food. Lastly, Shisui turned his eyes towards their mysterious captain who appeared to be in the middle of setting up an invisible perimeter around the clearing. Seals flashed in midair as Kurama pressed his palm on a seemingly invisible wall. Shisui has heard bits and pieces about the art of fuinjutsu and even with his limited knowledge in the area, he could tell that Kurama was clearly no amateur.

Shisui has never heard of fuinjutsu being performed this way. He was quite certain that the few scrolls in the Uchiha archives said that fuinjutsu involved the use of brushes and paper.  
Shisui could only conclude that Kurama must be very skilled at the art.

Which made Shisui go back to the burning question he was sure his other two teammates were wondering about - who was Kurama? Shisui was certain he had never seen the older man in Konoha before. Did that mean Kurama was not a Konoha nin? Unless, maybe Kurama was in ANBU. Shisui was part of ANBU (though a newly minted one) but the identities of most, if not, all the ANBU members were unknown to him. As a specialised group that was formed solely to carry out missions that required anonymity, Shisui was not surprised that that was the case. But, considering their mission, anonymity was not necessary.

Rather, Shisui believed that Konoha would want the other hidden villages to know who were responsible for capturing or killing one of the most dangerous missing-nins.  
None of them but Kurama was masked.

Shisui blinked as it dawned on him. _It was Kurama's identity that needed to be kept secret._

But why?

Shisui shook his head. All this thinking gave him a headache. All he was doing was running around in circles.  
He decided to leave it for now. He recalled how Genma seemed quite at ease with Kurama and if the Hokage trusted this man to lead them on such an important mission, then who was Shisui to question that?

Instead, his thoughts went back to the Uchiha clan.

He has noticed the air of unease and tension back at the main house. He saw members whispering and clan elders meeting more frequently than usual.  
Something was brewing and Shisui knew it was only a matter of time before things hit the fan. Then, the rift between the Uchiha and the village cannot be bridged again.

He was torn.

He loved his clan, his family, his blood but he has seen the greed for power consume many Uchihas. He has seen how his father has become a shadow of himself. There is a heaviness to his shoulders now. His father did not agree with many of the clan's decisions but he had no power to change them.

On the other hand, he has sworn his allegiance to his village from the moment he became a shinobi. And over time, he has grown to love its people. There was life in the village, a sense of light-heartedness in its people during festivities whereas the Uchiha clan were more serious and locked in its traditional ways.

Shisui was torn - he did not know what to do to salvage whatever relations his clan had with the village. He had no one to turn to in his clan. All the clan elders were set in their way and he was merely a child in their eyes. His words held no sway. The only other person, besides his father who sought for change was his cousin, Itachi.

Shisui recalled how Itachi had came to him after the Hokage had summoned him to his office and relayed to Shisui what had happened.

 _"Uchiha-kun, thank you for coming."_

 _The Hokage looked tired but there was something grandfatherly about his voice that made Itachi unconsciously relax as the Hokage's eyes crinkled._

 _"There is something I would like to propo- Ah," the Sandaime turned his eyes to the door as it clicked open. There was a smile to his lips when the Hokage beckoned for the person to come in._

 _"I believe it will be better for you to explain everything, Kurama-kun."_

 _The sound of footsteps reached Itachi's ears as he slowly turned around to face the stranger. Itachi's first thoughts when his eyes landed on the other man was bright._

 _The man had short hair the colour of the sun and eyes a shade darker than the colour of the sky. A scar ran down the man's right cheek to his jaw. Dressed in standard black shinobi clothes, Kurama stood tall with a small smile as he regarded Itachi._

 _Itachi was taken aback by the smile on the other's face. No one has ever smiled at him when they first meet him. Instructors were stern while other children stretched their mouths into jealous snarls or they gave him fearful looks. His father never smiled at him although his mother would give him small smiles every now and then when he came home from missions. The only people who were genuinely happy to see him were Shisui and his brother, Sasuke._

 _But this man … a genuine smile graced the other's lips and he seemed happy to see Itachi._

 _"Uchiha-kun."_

 _The older man's voice brought Itachi back to reality. Looking up, Itachi saw a flicker of a shadow that momentarily haunted the other's eyes before it disappeared. What was that? Itachi thought. It looked like the other was in pain._

 _"Congratulations on passing your chunin exams last month."_

 _Itachi blinked, surprised. He must have been caught staring because Kurama chuckled in amusement. Charcoal eyes flickered to the Sandaime who had been silent so far and Itachi saw the Hokage fail to hide a smile._

 _Turning back to Kurama and concealing his slight confusion, Itachi murmured a polite thank you._

 _Kurama went on to propose a spar between Itachi and Hatake Kakashi._  
 _"He is an ANBU captain and as he is not an Uchiha, I believe a spar between the two of you would prove to be interesting." Kurama grinned, and Itachi sensed there was something more to it than that._

 _Itachi has heard much about Hatake Kakashi. He was given the sharingan from Uchiha Obito before the latter died. For someone outside the clan to wield their kekkei genkai was unheard of. Itachi mentally frowned as he recalled the outrage when the clan elders realised there was nothing they could do. The Hokage had decided that as Uchiha Obito gave his sharingan willingly to his teammate, they could not take it back._

 _Itachi has heard of Kakashi's reputation as a prodigious shinobi even before he was given the sharingan. Others had high expectations of the son of Konoha's White Fang and Kakashi probably had to shoulder those expectations throughout his life._

 _Itachi reflected how he and Kakashi were alike in that regard._

 _Kurama must have seen the conflict on Itachi's face because the other man merely nodded._  
 _"Take some time to think about it, Uchiha-kun."_

 _They soon left the Hokage's office and with a bow to the Sandaime, Itachi closed the door quietly behind him. Itachi made to bid farewell to Kurama who was standing silently in the corridor._

 _"Thank you for the offer, Kurama-san. I will give you a reply by the end of the week."_

 _Kurama was silent and Itachi noted how the shadows in his eyes were back as the other man seemed distracted._

 _Stepping away to leave, Itachi was halted by a warm grip on his shoulder._

 _Itachi looked up at Kurama, who did not speak for a moment._

 _Kurama's eyes slipped closed before they opened and Itachi was surprised by the conviction in those blue depths._

 _"You are not alone, Itachi-kun."_

 _Itachi's breath hitched and wide eyes met grim ones._

 _Just before the other man's grip slackened, Kurama leaned in to whisper._

 _"Beware of Shimura Danzo."_

Shisui found himself watching his taichou whenever he had the chance. Right now, Kurama was twirling a kunai in his hand with practiced ease as his head was tilted up towards the sky, the blasted mask still on. Like Shisui, Kurama was leaning against a boulder.

Turning away, Shisui closed his eyes.

Shimura Danzo …

Shisui wanted to know what Kurama knew about the Konoha elder. Did he know about … Root? That despite the Yondaime's best efforts, Danzo managed to salvage some of its operatives and hid them underground?

Before the elder approached him a month ago, Shisui knew nothing about Danzo and Root.

"Uchiha Shisui."  
Shisui tensed, ready to flicker out of there if need be.

Regardless of the elder's underhand methods which were made known to Shisui by his father, Danzo was still an elder and Shisui sketched a bow.  
"Shimura-sama."

Danzo regarded him for a moment and Shisui took that opportunity to note the swaths of bandage around the elder's right eye and the bit of white bandage around his right hand. Shisui frowned slightly, the elder was injured?

"Your potential should not go to waste. Serve your village, Uchiha Shisui, as an undercover operative."  
Undercover operative? Shisui hid his confusion, did Danzo mean ANBU? But Shisui made ANBU a month ago and as an elder, Shisui was certain Danzo knew that. Unless ...  
His eyes widened. It was an invitation to join Root, in not so many words.

Danzo must have seen the comprehension flicker across his face because he turned away.  
"Think about it."  
Then, Danzo disappeared and Shisui was left standing alone in the dark alleyway.

Shisui struggled to fall asleep even though the sound of fire crackling was usually enough to clear his mind and lull him to sleep. The thought that it was only a matter of time before Danzo approached him again, but this time it would not be an invitation plagued him.

He needed to tell someone.

The Hokage? No, the Sandaime was busy. A year has passed but the Kyuubi attack had devastated the village and restoration process was not yet complete. Besides, he was not sure that the Hokage would believe him if Shisui told him that Root was still active. Danzo was discrete so he doubted that Hokage knew.

He could not go to his clan. If the elders found out that Danzo, one of the village's elder and one of Hokage's advisors was seeking to bring the sharingan into Root, there was no way they would sit still and not raise hell. Going to his clan was too risky, it was likely everything would backfire and the Uchiha clan would become even more hostile to the village. No, Shisui would not risk that.

That left only one person.

This unknown nin, Kurama, who seemed to be aware of Danzo's character and _warned_ Itachi of him.

Shisui made up his mind.

He would tell Kurama after the mission.

* * *

Yamato folded his arms behind his head as he laid on the ground and closed his eyes. His teammates were silent and only the sound of the fire crackling could be heard. The forest was quiet too, he wondered if the cicadas and insects were hiding.

Even now when they are in Earth country and probably only a few days away from reaching their target, Yamato could not believe that he was on this mission. He was on a mission to capture Orochimaru.

When he had stood next to the Shiranui Genma, who he knew was in ABU and Uchiha Shisui, a well known genius even for among the Uchiha, and the Hokage was briefing them on their mission, Yamato could hardly breathe.

Just the name Orochimaru sent his mind to dark places. Yamato had stood frozen, the Sandaime's words washed over him and he felt like he was submerged in water because his voice sounded muffled and unclear.

Only his ANBU training kept him grounded to the present but later, when he was back in his small apartment packing his gear, Yamato could not stop the memories from rushing back.

Being stuck in some kind of tank filled with green liquid, he wasn't sure if he had being conscious or not. He remembered other tanks with children in them. And he remembered his face. Those eyes narrowed into slits, observing him clinically before turning away. Then, there was nothing. Darkness.

He had no idea how much time had passed before there was a loud explosion and there was a rush of footsteps.  
Yamato opened his eyes slightly and saw ten or so Konoha nin surrounding one man.

"Che, what a failure," Orochimaru swept his eyes around the room before forming some hand seals and disappeared.  
Some of the shinobi gave chase but it was futile. He was gone.

Most of the tanks were broken and the children within them dead, their bodies broken. The shinobi examined the room, collecting papers of research and retrieving the dead children with careful hands.

When one of the shinobi stepped before his tank, Yamato opened his eyes fully and he opened his mouth to call out for help when he choked. Bubbles rose to the top of the tank.

"Taichou! We've got a survivor!" The shinobi called out in surprise.

Yamato felt the vibrations as someone was trying to break the glass tank but before he could find out if they were successful, darkness took him.

He had woke up later in a room. Everything was white - the walls, the linen, the chair beside his bed. A woman came in, also dressed in white and Yamato realised she was a nurse and he was in a hospital.

He had been unconscious for five days. No one had any idea how long Orochimaru had him for. He was an orphan.

Later in the day, an old man came to visit him. Yamato quickly sat up when he realised it was the Hokage.

"There is no need for that, my boy."  
The Hokage lifted his hands up and gestured for Yamato to stay in bed.

Sandaime's eyes were filled with sorrow and grief when he sat in the white chair and placed his hand over Yamato's much smaller one.  
"I am so sorry for what you had to go through, my child," the Hokage's voice cracked.

Yamato was speechless as the Hokage sat with his head bowed and something wet splashed onto his hand.

"I am so sorry."

Yamato shifted his hand so his palm was up and lightly squeezed the older man's hand.

His movements faltered as Yamato recalled how defeated the Hokage had looked that day. Yamato packed the last of his kunai before lifting his palm up. He had later found out that Orochimaru had been the Hokage's student and a part of him wanted to blame the Hokage for the horrors that Orochimaru put them through. All the children had died, except him. He remembered hearing them scream and cry for mercy. But as he grew and came to know his village once again, Yamato was thankful.

The Hokage had given him the choice to become a shinobi or to step away from all the horrors he went through and live the rest of his life as a civilian. And when Yamato had chosen to become shinobi, the Hokage had smiled with sadness.

Guilt still lingered in those eyes when the Hokage regarded him and years later, when he offered him a place in ANBU.  
Yamato had accepted.

Before he left, Yamato turned to the Sandaime.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." _You saved me that day,_ went unsaid.

With a bow, he left, but not before he caught the surprise on the other man's face.

And when the Hokage summoned him for this mission, it was no longer guilt that haunted the other's eyes but pride. At that, Yamato gave the Hokage a small nod.  
An understanding had come between the two and Yamato was glad.

Now, there was one last thing he needed to do for both himself and the Sandaime.

With his team, Yamato resolved to capture the Sannin once and for all.

* * *

Kurama opened his eyes to see Genma about to nudge him awake. Giving the other man a nod to say that he was up, Kurama sat up as Genma went back to the tree trunk he was leaning against and shut his eyes. Even though Kurama could sense that there were no chakra signals in the area, he did not want to chance an attack during the night so he had set up sentinel duty.

Kurama's eyes swept over the clearing and took note of his other two teammates who were fast asleep.

While Shisui had his back to the boulder he was leaning against last night, he must have shifted positions some time during the night because he was now laying on his side with his arms across his chest and his legs were folded so that his knees were close to his chest. His face was pinched, as if he was having a bad dream.

On the other hand, Yamato was sleeping straight with his back against the ground and his arms to his side. Kurama lifted a brow. How the younger nin managed to fall asleep and stay in that position was beyond his comprehension.

Rolling his shoulders, Kurama took this chance to unclip his mask now that none of his teammates were awake. Well, only Genma has seen him unmasked.

Smiling as the breeze cooled his face, Kurama closed his eyes.

Battling Orochimaru was going to be a pain in the ass. The only consolation was that this Orochimaru was much younger than the one he faced in his time but Kurama knew better than to underestimate the Sannin. He was even more dangerous when cornered.

They only had one chance to ambush him. It was likely that at this point, Orochimaru had Kabuto with him but has yet to join the Akatsuki. It was a good thing then to get him now, before he joined Akatsuki and partnered with Sasori who Kurama would rather not deal with right now.

They needed to get Orochimaru now, or else the snake would know that they were after him and be on his guard from then on. Ideally, Kurama didn't want to drag this out longer than necessary.

He was on a strict timeline.

After Orochimaru, Kurama has to focus on preventing the Uchiha massacre.

At the moment, Itachi was eleven which meant he had two years to do something. Kurama wasn't sure if talks of a coup was already happening.

He hoped he wasn't too late. All he could do now was hope that Kakashi and Itachi's training sessions were underway.

He didn't know when Danzo would make a move to steal Shisui's sharingan, which would spark Itachi's rift from this clan.

Kurama sighed. There were too many unknowns.

He was glad he got Shisui out of Konoha and away from Danzo's clutches. At least this gave him time to think about the original timeline.

It was likely that Shisui already knew about the tension in his clan and the risk of a coup.

Glancing at the shinobi in question, Kurama was once again surprised by how young Shisui was.

Such responsibility for a fourteen year old.

Shisui was probably thinking of ways to prevent the possibility of a coup. Sooner or later, Kurama was certain his thoughts would turn to his mangekyo sharingan and the plan to manipulate the elders with genjutsu.

A lifetime ago, Kurama would have fought strongly against such a plan. He would never consent to the idea of taking away someone's free will and manipulating it to align with his own agenda. But, Kurama was a different man now. He had seen how sometimes, sacrifices must be made to ensure the safety of his precious people.

This Kurama believed Shisui's plan was sound. To be perfectly honest, he thought it was ingenious.

It was too bad that the Danzo of his time had come to the same conclusion and sought measures against being manipulated in the same way. Kurama wondered why Danzo believed himself to be in danger of being held under Shisui's genjutsu.

It must be that Shisui was aware of something Danzo planned to do against the village. In which case, Kurama must speak to Shisui about Danzo before the Uchiha returns to Konoha and the same turn of events occur again.

But, first thing's first. Orochimaru.

For this mission to be a success, Kurama needed to make use of his team's strengths.

Genma would be able to hold his own. Having been part of the Yondaime's personal guard and well-rounded ANBU operative, Kurama was not worried about him.

While Yamato has been in ANBU for a year or two now, Kurama had no idea how skilled he was with his mokuton. His time's Yamato was a thirty-something year old veteran and immensely skilled with the First's techniques but this Yamato was only around fifteen years old. Somehow Kurama had to find an opportunity to gauge the other's skills before they ambush Orochimaru.

While initially undecided about the other's mentality and resolve against Orochimaru, Kurama had noted how Yamato seemed more sure of himself as the days went by. He has heard from the Sandaime about his history with Yamato and the Hokage himself thought the younger nin mentally prepared to face the man responsible for his childhood trauma.

So, it was only his skill with mokuten that needed to be ascertained.

Finally, Shisui.

Kurama was slightly apprehensive about the risk of taking an Uchiha to confront Orochimaru.

He was well aware of the Sannin's obsession with the sharingan so Kurama had to be careful. If he lost Shisui to Orochimaru, the consequences would be dire.

Not only would Orochimaru gain the sharingan, and a powerful set at that, Kurama could not even imagine how the Uchiha clan would react to having one of their own lost to the shifty Sannin of all people. No doubt it would speed up the events leading up to the coup and all his work with Kakashi and Itachi would go down the drain.

And there was no way Kurama would let Orochimaru get his slimy hands on Shisui.

There was no way Kurama would subject the Uchiha to that.

Travelling with his team these few days has awoken something deep within him.

He had missed this. The camaraderie, the rush of adrenaline as his team, Team 7, tackled every mission with fervor.

This team was not Team 7 but it was his team nonetheless and Kurama has grown fond of them.

The first day he had missed Kakashi and his thoughts went to the silver haired nin, wondering how the other was coping with Itachi.

While thoughts of the other still lingered in his mind, Kurama found himself more and more invested in this team as the days went by.

He began noticing each of their quirks - the ever present senbon in Gemna's mouth even when the other slept, the way Shisui was at times distracted (by thoughts of his clan, no doubt) and other times cheerfully chatting away, and Yamato who no longer seemed as stoic as before, who has begun to open up and respond to questions the other two had for him.

And Kurama? Kurama allowed a smile to linger on his lips, hidden by his mask as he led the way.

Perhaps, it was time. He was a walking reservoir of secrets. Maybe it was time to let one or two of those secrets go.

Mind made up, Kurama waited for his teammates to wake up.

He didn't have to wait long for when dawn broke and shafts of light filtered through the gaps between the trees, the sounds of blanket rustling reached his ears.

With his eyes closed and head tipped back against the tree, Kurama did not reach for his mask on the ground beside him.

* * *

 **A/N.** This fic is definitely AU because it's been years since I've watched Naruto and I haven't kept up with the manga either. My timeline is definitely not canon (having to age up or de-age some characters to make things a tad more realistic). Also some events either happen earlier than canon, or aren't canon at all. (For example, I don't think Danzo ever approached Shisui to join Root - I definitely made that up, and Genma was never in ANBU I believe).

To clear up some confusion, these are the ages of the characters:

Kurama (26/27)

Kakashi (17)

Genma (20)

Shisui (14)

Itachi (11)

Yamato (15)

Another note - right now, things in the Uchiha clan are tense. It's still 2 years before the massacre happens in canon - there are talks about a coup but it's only at its early stages and both Itachi and Shisui aren't fully aware of it. They know something's up and that the clan is straying from the village but nothing concrete.


End file.
